Thinking About You
by MismatchedToeSocks
Summary: Sixteen year old Tess, a Telmarine, joins the Narnians. But fighting among the Kings and Queens of old is much different than she thought it would be. Particularly since a certain king has her on his mind. EdXOC. Planned 7 chapters total.
1. Joining the Narnians

Author's note Although I generally don't like to use OC's, I kinda gave in to myself this time

**Author's note** Although I generally don't like to use OC's, I kinda gave in to myself this time. Yes, the OC is based on myself, because I love Edmund very much. Heh. So, just R&R, don't forget to enjoy!

Disclaimer No, I do not own Narnia. I wish I could own Edmund. Or, at least Skandar Keynes.

Tesaklara lay in her chamber, thinking hard. She was supposed to be asleep, yet she lay awake, still dressed in her day clothes, a long white dress with a navy bodice. Although a Telmarine, Tesaklara, or Tess as she preferred to be called, had never supported her people's ways. She was very strong willed for a thirteen-year-old girl, and just as deceitful. She secretly wished to fight among the Narnians… and would have given absolutely anything to have been able to help stop her people from conquering Narnia more than 1300 years before. After all, she had never felt like a Telmarine. For one, she looked different from the majority of them. Instead of very tan skin and jet-black hair, she was only slightly tanned, even though she spent much of her time outdoors, and had light brown hair with blonde streaks throughout. Tess also decorated her chamber differently than most of the other ladies-in-waiting's daughters. Instead of the traditional navy and silver décor emblazoned with Telmarine stars, her chamber was decorated with light blue, bright green, red, and gold. In addition to that, Tess hung objects from the forest on the walls and ceiling, like dried flowers and gems from the River Rush. Tesa more or less disagreed with everything Telmarine, other than a few friends and Prince Caspian.

All of a sudden, Tess sat up. She rushed to her window, where she saw a lone griffin, carrying a human, flying through the sky, towards her tower. A griffin! She had been told that griffins no longer existed, much less ones that carried humans around. This could mean only one thing… Narnians.

She quickly grabbed a sack off of her desk and slipped on her shoes. Tess rushed through the castle, as quietly as she could, narrowly avoiding the guards that patrolled the halls at night. After several minutes of dodging certain punishment, she made it into the village. She saw the griffin drop the human off on the very top of her tower. The griffin snatched up the guard below, and the human nimbly jumped down to replace the guard. Tess rummaged through her sack and pulled out a scope. She put it to her eyes and looked in the direction of the newcomer. He was tall, young, dark haired, and fair-skinned. He took out a strange looking device, and flipped a switch on it. It lit up, and flashed light several times. Three more griffins flew overhead, each carrying a human. Tess pointed the scope up at the sky, and saw that two of the humans looked much like the boy in the tower… and the third was Prince Caspian. Everything came together at that moment. Caspian had joined the Narnians, and the others were the three older Kings and Queens of Old. The girl had to be Queen Susan, as she carried a bow and a quiver of arrows, and Queen Lucy never joined a battle. The boy with Caspian had to be High King Peter, as he looked older than the boy in the tower, and he carried a sword and a scarlet shield with a golden lion on the front. That meant the boy in the tower was King Edmund. Tess knew something major was about to happen.

A battle was what happened. King Edmund flashed the torch several more times, and many magical creatures flooded into the gatehouse. After at least an hour of battling, the Narnians began to retreat. As they passed through the town, she ran into the remaining ranks.

"Prince Caspian!" she called. He halted his horse and looked at her.

"Who are you?"

Tesa explained herself, and Caspian told her to get on the back of the griffin that King Edmund was riding.

Once they were flying, King Edmund began to talk to her.

"Caspian tells me that you're a Telmarine. You're on our side. But why? "

Tess replied, unsure that the King would understand.

"I've never believed in the Telmarine ways. They had absolutely no reason to conquer Narnia. I think that if you have to fight, you'd better have a reason."

King Edmund grinned.

"That's good," he said. "I'm glad. By the way, I'm Edmund. Not King-Edmund-the-Just, in case you were wondering. If you want to call someone King, go to my brother. He enjoys having people kiss his ass."

Tess giggled, causing her to nearly slide off of the griffin. Edmund didn't notice. He was busy telling her fantastic stories about Old Narnia.

At the end of her story, Edmund said,

"Hey, I didn't get you name."

"Tesaklara, otherwise known as Tess," she replied.

"Tess. That's a pretty name," said Edmund.

Tess's heart fluttered, and she felt herself blush. She was glad it was dark.


	2. Leopard's Attack

A/N Ahkay, so, I actually am trying to be on time with this story (as some of you may possibly know, I'm not too reliable)

**A/N** Ahkay, so, I actually am trying to be on time with this story (as some of you may possibly know, I'm not too reliable). So yeah, not much to say at the mo'. Other than that, you know the drill. R&R and enjoy!

After landing, it was just past daylight. Tess followed the Narnians into an underground chamber, which she later realized was the mythical Aslan's How. Everyone was rather tense, she noticed, as nearly half their ranks had been killed. Caspian and Peter had gotten into a fight. This startled Tess; she had never seen Caspian so angry before. Once she entered the tomb, she noticed a young girl, maybe a year or two younger than her. The girl looked up.

"Who are you?" she asked Tess.

"Tesaklara. Or Tess. And you are…"

"Lucy. Are you a Telmarine?"

"Yes, yes I am. But I side with Caspian." replied Tess.

Lucy smiled. "That's really great! Were you in the fight?"

"No. I just watched. I would fight, though. I've practiced in a grove outside the castle. I'm really the only one who supports Caspian and you guys. I found a small old armory behind my chamber wall. Only one set of armor and a sword and shield, but still. And I do have a horse of my own."

The smile faded a bit on Lucy's face.

"Oh. I wish I could fight. I'm just… too scared."

Tess felt sad for Lucy. "I could teach, you, if you wanted."

Lucy's face lit up. "Yes! That would be wonderful. My stupid brothers won't teach me, and Susan is always swooning over Caspian!" she blushed. The both of them giggled. Edmund walked in.

"Tess. You're wanted. Lu, just stay here a bit. Take a nap or something."

Lucy grumbled and Tess got up and followed Edmund.

Once they got outside, he led her towards Peter, Susan, Caspian, and a dwarf called Trumpkin.

"You're to help us spy on the Telmarines," he explained. "If anything goes wrong, our weapons, armor, horses, and warriors are hidden nearby."

Soon, they were near a river. They hid in the brush and watched, silently. The Telmarine forces were building a bridge, war machines, and weapons. The five hid behind a large rock. Little did they know that there was a huge, hungry, wild leopard lurking just behind them. Susan heard something move behind her, and she turned to look. She gasped at the sight of the leopard, and it snarled. She quickly darted away, and it lunged at her. Fortunately, it narrowly missed her left leg, but the ruckus was heard by several Telmarines, who sounded the alarm. In an instant, they were racing after them, with swords and horses. The five turned to run back into the forest, where they met the warriors, who gave them armor and weapons. The mounted their horses, and galloped off. The centaur warriors managed to hold off the Telmarines, but the rogue leopard still raced after them. It lunged at Edmund's horse. The horse fell, Edmund tumbling down with it. The leopard lunged again, this time at Edmund. His shirt was ripped open, and blood began to pour out of his side.

"Aaaghh!" he cried out in pain.

The leopard sliced at his face, arms, and chest. Edmund was nothing but a bloody mass. But all of a sudden, the leopard fell down, dead. Tess stood behind its carcass, holding a bloody sword. Peter leapt off of his bay horse, and helped put Edmund on the back of Tess's horse (since Trumpkin was riding with Susan, Tess took up the least space on a horse. They raced back to Aslan's How.

They lay Edmund before Lucy, who poured her magical cordial down his throat. His eyes fluttered open. He was alive. Lucy reached for a roll of bandages, but Tess held her back.

"I was trained to heal at the castle. My mother is one of Queen Prunaprismia's ladies-in-waiting. So she taught me."

Lucy nodded, and handed Tess the medical supplies. Two centaurs carried Edmund inside, where she ripped off the remainder of his shirt, thinking about how awkward it would be when he realized what was going on. She washed the scarlet blood off of his body, and realized how toned his muscles were. She put disinfectant in his several open wounds, and bound them with sutures and bandages. As Tess was wiping the sweat from his brow, Edmund began to speak.

"What the hell happened?" he said shakily.

"You were savagely attacked by a wild leopard."

"Fantastic," he replied. But then he grinned.

"You'll need rest. Just sleep, now."

"Alright," he said.

As Tess turned to walk out of the tomb, Edmund spoke again.

"Tess… thanks. You've been a great help. Really. I can't thank you enough."

Tess nodded, and walked away smiling.


	3. Author's Note Read ASAP!

Mkay

Mkay. So. Lately, I've been studying like mad for my exams, so my mind is a tad messed up. So, I need to fix up my story. Try reading it over again tomorrow (for me, tomorrow is June 3rd, 2008). Then it'll make more sense. So sorry for the inconvenience! Thanks for being patient.


	4. Realizations

AN So, there was lots of stuff messed up yesterday and over the weekend, so I'm attempting to fix it up

**AN** So, there was lots of stuff messed up yesterday and over the weekend, so I'm attempting to fix it up. And I'm so sorry about kinda ruining the story for you guys! R&R and don't forget to enjoy!

Edmund seemed to be asleep when Tess walked into the tomb with fresh bandages. It had been a few days since the leopard attack, and with Tess's help and Lucy's cordial, the wounds were healing up quite fast. Tess sat down next to him, and unbuttoned his shirt. She replaced the bandages on his side and arms. She realized how awkward it was to unbutton his shirt. But she had to help him heal in time for any possible attacks. As she was getting up to walk outside, Edmund sat up. He silently watched Tess walk out, a dreamy expression on his face.

"Is it just me, or are you falling for her?" said a voice from behind him.

It was Lucy.

"No!" replied Edmund, blushing.

"Sure, Loverboy, sure," smirked Lucy. "Denial is almost always a sign that you've been knocked head over heels. And you're blushing. I also know that you're awake whenever she changes your bandages. You don't want her to know that you've been staring at her when she's not looking at you."

"Fine, then. Ever since she rode on my griffin, I've thought that she's beautiful. And she's a really fantastic person, too. But promise me you won't tell anybody," he admitted.

"Done. Anyway, You're the only one that believed me when I saw Aslan before," Lucy smiled.

Suddenly, he felt better than he had before. He got up, and walked outside, towards the others.

"Ed, aren't you supposed to be asleep?" asked Peter.

"I feel fine. I want to help."

"But, Ed–" started Susan. Edmund cut her off, giving her his patented death glare.

"I. Am. Fine."

She backed off, glancing at Caspian, who shrugged.

"So, what can I do?" he asked with an air of cheerfulness, the death glare wiped from his face. Peter started to speak, when Tess joined the group.

"Ed," she said. "I thought you were sleeping."

"I was," he replied. "I feel good enough to work now, though."

"Oh, good," she smiled. Her bright smile set Edmund's heart aflutter.

"Okay, then. Ed, you'll be getting the troops ready for battle. Formation arrangements and stuff like that. You can do heavier work tomorrow, providing that you're not dead from working with your side sliced open," said Peter.

"Har dee har. That's definitely a knee-slapper," replied Edmund.

Tess couldn't help but giggle.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

It was around four o'clock. Tess was practicing archery with Susan, but wasn't really paying attention to what was going on.

_I wonder where Ed is. Hell, I wonder if he knows that I like him. I've been kinda obvious. Is that a bad thing though? Or a good thing?_

"Got it, Tess? Now, try to hit… the slit between those two rocks up on the hill."

_Twang!_

It hit right on target.

"Good one!" said Susan.

As soon as she turned her back, Tess sighed with relief. A lucky shot.

Susan gave her the OK to leave. She walked over to the larger battlefield and watched Edmund arrange a group of centaurs. As soon as they were in line, he shot a smile at her and waved. Being Narnian was more than Tess imagined.

And Tess was more than Edmund had imagined.


	5. Moonbows

AN Mmkay, so I'm trying to restrain myself from writing all my favorite parts too early, because I'm just very cool like that

**AN** I've realized that I made a mistake in editing. Tess is actually 16 in this story. But yeah, I think you'll enjoy this chapter. At least, those of you who like romance will. Also, my friend asked how old Edmund is. Here, he's 17. So, R&R, and enjoy!

It was late. Lucy, Tess, and Susan were all sleeping soundly in the tomb, while Peter, Trumpkin, and Caspian were planning. Edmund was supposed to be asleep, but was sitting, watching Tess sleep.

_She's so beautiful,_ he thought. _In looks and personality._

He leaned over and shook her gently.

"Tess," he whispered. "Wake up."

Her eyes fluttered open.

"Yeah, Ed?"

"C'mon. I want to show you something."

Nodding, Tess stood up. Edmund took her by the hand and walked with her out of the tomb. He took her through the forest, which was beautiful at night. Moonlight shone softly through the trees, illuminating everything with a silvery glow. They walked for a long time, until they reached the canyon of River Rush.

"Look at the waterfall." He said, and pointed.

"Ohh!" Tess gasped.

It was a moonbow (**AN **for those of you that don't know what a moonbow is, here's something that'll help en./wiki/Moonbow). Tess's jaw dropped at the sight of it. They kept walking, and saw several moonbows from different angles. It was a fantastic sight. As Tess was turning to Edmund to speak, the ground collapsed beneath her, she hurtled down the canyon, splashing into the freezing cold water (**AN **Yes, I know that it's improbable that she could possibly have survived, but it happens. People can actually survive that long a fall.)

"Hang on, Tess!" shouted Edmund. He nimbly climbed down the canyon wall, and reached the bank, just as Tess was grabbing hold of a large rock. He held out his hand to her, and pulled her out onto the sand. She was shivering madly, her hair and dress soaking wet, her skin pale, and her lips blue and trembling.

"Your lips are blue," said Edmund. Then he kissed her, full on the mouth. They broke apart after a few long moments.

"I think that warmed them up," Tess managed, holding Edmund tight to her body.

"No sense going back now, though," he said. "It's nearly four o'clock in the morning, and it'll take at least an hour to get back."

Tess nodded in agreement. Edmund started a fire and gave Tess his warm shirt to sleep in. As they lay down, he took her in his arms and kissed her again.

"I love you." he said.

"I love you, too," replied Tess. She kissed his cheek and lay down in his arms.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Daylight. Edmund awoke, with Tess still asleep in his arms. He let her sleep for a bit, then woke her up. Her dress was more or less dry now, so she handed him back his shirt. They set off, climbing up the canyon wall. Once they reached the top, they set off towards Aslan's How. There they found Susan and Lucy, sick with worry. Peter, Caspian, and Trumpkin were still asleep, since they had been up until maybe five thirty, planning and whatnot. When they saw Tess and Edmund, they raced forward to hug the two of them.

"Where have you two been?" asked Lucy, after releasing Edmund from a rib cracking hug (for a girl her age, Lucy was very strong).

Edmund glanced at Tess, worried that Susan would disapprove.

"He took me to see the moonbows last night, and I fell into the canyon of the River Rush. Ed rescued me, and by that time it was too late to start on our way back. It would take much too long to get here," she said, confidently.

"Oh. Alright. You're not hurt, are you?" said Susan.

_Yes,_ Edmund thought. _No suspicion! Or, at least, no disapproval._

"Nah," replied Tess. "Just a cut on my shin."

As Susan and Lucy left, Lucy shot them a quick wink and a thumbs up,

"She, uh, knows," explained Edmund.

So Lucy and Susan went about their business, and Edmund and Tess quietly snuck off towards the brush.

"Meet me again tonight?" asked Edmund.

"Yes. Yes, of course!" replied Tess. "Outside of the tomb."

They shared a quick kiss, and then went their separate ways. Love was in the morning air.


	6. The Second Battle of Beruna

AN OHMIGOSH I'm so sorry about the enormous delay

**AN **OHMIGOSH I'm so sorry about the enormous delay! See, our power went out in that huge storm, and Comcast wasn't fixed for another week. Then, I was studying like mad for finals, and then I got sick, and then went camping, and then to Hersheypark. Did I mention I suffered major writer's burnout? But, I'm back, and that's all the matters. By the way, I must note that a bit of this is AU. I've stretched out the timing, due to what happens in this chapter. R&R and enjoy the longest chapter ever!

It was warm here, wherever here was. But the nice kind of warm. Everything was hazy, but whatever it was that was mixed up in this haziness was _very_ nice. Something sounded in the distance, maybe a bugle. Suddenly, the world began to slowly tilt downwards, coming to a gentle halt. Everything became cold and hard.

Tess shivered awake. She rubbed her eyes, and tried to remember what was going on. She looked across the tomb, and saw Lucy and Susan sitting, yawning.

"What's going on?" Tess asked.

"Telmarines. They've set up camp nearby. Peter, Ed, Trumpkin, Caspian, and our warriors are holding council," replied Susan.

Everything fit together. Tess must have curled up against Edmund while sleeping the night before. Then he left, and that explained the whole tilting thing.

_Damn, _she thought, _I hope nobody noticed me sleeping with him. Not that we were actually sleeping together... I guess._

But Susan thought nothing of it. The girls stumbled to their feet, and made their way out doors to the warriors. They reached the council just as it was being adjourned. Tess looked for Edmund in the confusion, but saw nothing of him until everyone had left. He was waiting for her behind a large rock nearby.

Tess ran into his strong arms, filled with questions.

"Ed, what's going on?" she asked worriedly.

"I'm to go and give Miraz a challenge. A challenge to duel Peter... to the death. I'm scared, Tess. What if Peter's killed?"

"I'm sure Peter will win. Don't be worried. You have me. As long as we're together, everything will be fine. I love you."

Edmund mounted his horse and rode off.

Soon enough, he was in the Telmarine camp. Nervously, Edmund entered the tent, scrolls in hand. He put all his worries behind him, and began to read the scroll.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Tess was having armor fitted. The armor she'd worn when Edmund had been attacked by the leopard was too big, as it had belonged to Susan in the Golden Age. Just as the final touches were being added, bugles sounded and Edmund rode into the camp. Everyone rushed to assemble near him, to listen to the news.

"He's agreed. He's given you three days," said Edmund solemnly.

Peter nodded, and stalked off to wherever he spent his time planning and practicing.

The next day everyone woke up very early. Nobody could sleep well the night before, but fear and spirit kept them awake. They were all preparing for anything. Because the tiniest little detail mattered. Nobody really spoke to each other but for war related things (**AN** just thought I'd say that Lucy, Susan, and Tess still spoke to each other). The centaurs, Minotaurs, and talking animals practiced battle strategies in the field, and the fauns and dwarves practiced archery. Nobody expected Miraz to keep his word. The chances were slim that he wouldn't start a battle.

Tess saw nothing of Edmund for the next few days. She was quite worried about him; she had never seen him look so worried and stressed before he announced Miraz's decision. Lucy even went so far as to say that she'd never seen him so bad _ever._ They were puzzling over reasons why other than the whole battle thing he could be in such an emotional and mental ditch when Susan joined the conversation.

"Tess, you may not think I knew about you two… but yeah. I did. And he's fallen hard for you. He's fallen deeper than he ever fell for all those girls back in Finchley. And I really think he's worried about his future with you. Anybody could die in this whole war. I'd be willing to bet that he'd have us stay here forever and rule Narnia with Caspian and take you as his queen, if given the choice."

"Wow," said Lucy. "How'd you get all that?"

"I don't know," shrugged Susan. "I've always been able to guess how people feel accurately.

"Oh. Okay."

"But that's beside the point," said Tess. "You really think that's all true, Susan?"

"Yup."

"Wow. That's a lot to handle. But I guess it's a good lot. Oh, and what you said about me not thinking you knew? We know about you and Caspian."

Susan simply blushed, and walked off.

The day came. Miraz and his troops arrived, and Peter strode out onto the battlefield, Edmund at his side. Edmund looked a little more confident, but still worried.

The battle between Miraz and Peter was intense. Twists, turns, jumps, plunges, everything… but Peter swung his sword at just the right angle…

And Miraz was down. Just as he was about to kill him, he hesitated.

_"What's the matter, boy?" Miraz hissed. "Too cowardly to take a life?"_

_"It's not mine to take," snarled Peter._

He handed the sword to Caspian, who also couldn't bring himself to kill Miraz. Miraz hobbled off to his men. As Peter and the others had their backs turned, one of the Telmarine lords (**AN **Oh, gosh, I can't remember the name… I think it's Sopespian) cried out.

"They've killed him!" He motioned to Miraz's body. He had a bright red arrow in his back.

Of course, nobody had shot the arrow. Sopespian had stabbed Miraz with it. But the Telmarines either believed it or just wanted a reason to fight. The Second Battle of Beruna ensued.

Armed Narnians ran out into the field, and Susan and her archers stood at the ready. Beneath the ground, Caspian and more Narnians thundered through the caverns, destabilizing the ground. A huge chunk of the ground sunk down, taking Telmarine soldiers with it. Narnians entered the pit, taking down the startled Telmarines.

Among the Narnians in the pit were Tess and Edmund, on horseback (**AN **This is an unnecessary bit of information but Tess's horse is named Rassa and Ed's is called Stonehoof. Me and my OCD, hehe). They circled a group of Telmarines, their swords a silver blur. In no time, the enemies had fallen to the ground, but a fresh batch of them appeared. Maybe fifteen minutes later, no Telmarines were left in the pit, but more were on their way. The Narnians raced out of the pit, diffusing into the ranks of Telmarine foot soldiers.

Tess was fending off a horde of Telmarines when one of them snuck up behind her horse and slashed its hind leg (**AN **No worries, my fellow equestrians, in the magical world of Narnia, there is no need for euthanization! I hope that's a word… Yay!). Rassa fell, Tess tumbling down with him. The Telmarine grabbed her and dragged her off into the woods. He chained her up to a tree and gagged her, with a bunch of other Narnian hostages.

"You're coming back to Telmar with us, whether you like it or not, you little traitor brat," he hissed. He slid a blindfold down over her eyes, and retreated to the battlefield.

For what seemed like hours, she sat there in darkness, hearing only sounds of war. All of a sudden, she felt the tension of the gag release, and the rough cloth of the blindfold slide up her forehead.

"Miss? Are you alright?"

It was a small centaur boy, with long brown hair and a bay body. He looked to be about ten years old, in human age. He was covered in dirt, and had red scars on his arms, legs, chest, and face, some bleeding.

"Alright, I guess," she replied. "But what's going on? Who are you?"

"My name's Agripin," he said. "I was taken captive while my father was fighting. My mother must be here somewhere, she was taken too. They're planning on making us slaves for them. If they win, that is. The battle looks as if it will go on for several days, though. They keep sending in more troops, but we're fending them off pretty well."

Tess nodded slowly, taking all the information Agripin had given her.

"Thank you for freeing me, Agripin. Is there any way to get rid of these dratted chains?"

"I'm sorry to say that there isn't. The keys are with the guards. By the way, you can call me Grip. That's what everyone else calls me."

"Alright then, Grip. How long have you been here, anyway?"

"A bit longer than you have. It's now late evening, or early morning. I was taken just as the battle started. You've been here since early evening."

Tess and Grip talked for a long while, and became fast friends. Grip was the son of the centaur chief, Glenstorm. Soon enough, they'd hatched a plan to break out of the camp, if it was necessary.

The next morning, something happened. Tess, Grip, and the other captives heard cries from the guards, as if someone were attacking them. A few fauns had strayed from their archery posts to come rescue the captives. After thanking them, Tess and Grip went their separate ways, Tess to rejoin the fray and Grip to stay with his mother.

The Telmarines were very weak, but still, the last fighters needed to be defeated, unless they surrendered. Edmund, who had been sick with worry over Tess's disappearance, saw her at the center of the field, on foot. He galloped Stonehoof over to her, and swung her onto the back of his horse. He held her tight, and kissed her full on the mouth. The battle seemed to halt around them, for nothing else mattered in their minds. They broke apart after what seemed like ages.

"What happened to you?" he asked, overjoyed.

"I was taken prisoner by a Telmarine. There were other captives too. But some fauns came through and saved us."

……………………………………………………………………………………………...

The battle ended as Lucy and the fabled Aslan (whom Tess was amazed to see; she thought that he only existed in fairytales) appeared at the river, where the battle had moved towards. Aslan roared, awakening the river god, who destroyed the Telmarine soldiers. The Narnians were victorious. Caspian had gained his rightful place on the throne, and the Narnians were free at last. And it _looked_ as if Tess and Edmund could have their future together.

**AN **OMG the suspense! Haha. Seriously, though. Check it out when I put it up. Reviewers get… uh… the joy that they reviewed. Yay!


	7. Promise

AN Well, this is probably the last chapter sniffle, but I am please to tell you that you'll find a need for a a sequel after

**AN** Well, this is probably the last chapter sniffle, but I am please to tell you that you'll find a need for a a sequel after you read this chapter. It has been kind of a short story, but I'm not good at long ones. I tend to run out of ideas. Anyway, those of you that had this on your alert list should definitely check the sequel out (which, by the way, should be up relatively soon; I've been planning it already), because… oops, bit of a spoiler here: **HUGE** cliffhanger. So, please, R&R, and enjoy!

In the weeks after the Second Battle of Beruna, things quieted down, although the Telmarine culture was in a Renaissance. People began to learn about the Narnian history, and they gained respect for nature and magical creatures. Telmarines were no longer concerned about simply fighting. Magical creatures became a large part of the Telmarine villages and palace. The palace became bright and colorful, a drastic change from the former navy and gray.

Meanwhile, Tess and Edmund began to focus on their relationship. Although they each had their own quarters (Tess's room was expanded to that of nobility, complete with a bedroom overlooking the sea, a bathroom, a small library, a terrace, and a lounge, courtesy of Caspian), their time was almost always spent in either the other's quarters, the courtyards, or on the beach. They spent long hours talking, and whenever one would visit the other's quarters, the visitor would come back most of the time long after dark (although both Tess and Edmund secretly thought it would make much more sense to spend the night in the other's bed, but didn't tell each other, just to be safe). Sometimes, when Edmund would go on one of his long rants about… whatever, Tess's attention would fade, and she would just stare into his dark eyes. She honestly tried to listen, but it was just too hard.

When Edmund was in post-war council (**AN **I don't know if such a thing exists, but it does now, Tess would entertain herself. with Grip and Lucy. The youthful trio did tend to occasionally wreak havoc, but nobody minded. Lucy educated her on life as royalty (for Tess was more or less considered royalty now, and there was talk about crowning her a queen of Narnia as a reward for her bravery or naming her a duchess of some part of Narnia), although she knew much of it before from watching her mother work with Prunaprismia. She was given many beautiful ball gowns, dresses and jewels.

One day though, everyone was summoned to the largest courtyard. Aslan, Peter, and Susan had an announcement.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Leaving?" croaked Edmund.

Peter and Susan nodded solemnly.

"We can bring Tess back with us, can't we?" asked Edmund hopefully.

"I am afraid not," replied Aslan in his deep voice. "She must stay behind. She has no place in your world."

Tess could barely stop herself from crying. She clung to Edmund, telling herself to stay strong.

"But," Aslan continued, "You and your siblings will come back to rule forever one day. Not too far off."

Edmund still couldn't bear to leave Tess, but he knew he had to. He turned to her and began to speak.

"I love you. I swear by Aslan's Mane that I'll come back for you. Forever. And I'll take you as my queen."

"They're in love?" whispered Peter to Trumpkin.

"You, my friend, are a clueless dolt," replied Trumpkin.

Tess took a deep breath, fighting back tears. This was the best and the worst thing in her life, all rolled up into one.

Finally, she gasped, "I trust you, Edmund."

"I will open a portal to your world," said Aslan, and a large tree twisted to form an arch.

As Edmund was walking through, he glanced back at Tess. He turned away sadly. All of a sudden, she'd run straight at him, into his arms, and kissed him passionately.

"I love you," whispered Tess.

Edmund bit back tears, and walked through the arch.

The four appeared on the platform just as the train was pulling up. They boarded in silence.

"Do you think Ed'll be alright?" whispered Susan to Lucy.

"Yeah. He'll stay strong for Tess. I know he will."

**AN **Awww, my story hath ended. What did you think? I hope you enjoyed it thoroughly. The sequel will start in less than a week, so keep checking! I love you all!


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